Eyewitnesses have described the harrowing moment a passenger plane crashed in São Paulo state, Brazil, killing all 61 people on board. The Voepass flight, en route from Cascavel in Paraná to São Paulo city, plummeted to the ground in the town of Vinhedo, leaving a trail of devastation.
“When I heard the sound of the plane falling, I looked out my window and saw the moment it crashed,” Felipe Magalhaes told Reuters. Driven by terror, he rushed outside to find the crash site, jumping over a wall in a desperate attempt to get closer.
Nathalie Cicari, who lives near the crash site, was having lunch when she heard a deafening noise. “It sounded like a drone, but much louder,” she told CNN Brasil. She stepped out onto her balcony and saw the plane spinning uncontrollably. “Within seconds, I realized that it was not a normal movement for a plane,” she said. The impact that followed was terrifying, forcing her to evacuate her smoke-filled home.
Another witness, Pietro, described the chaos that ensued after the crash, with people breaking into a nearby condominium to record videos of the wreckage. “All that was left was the cabin,” he recalled.
Meanwhile, at Cascavel Airport, passengers who missed the ill-fated flight spoke of their close brush with disaster. Adriano Assis, who was supposed to be on board, recounted how a delay in boarding likely saved his life. “I even argued with the staff, but he ended up saving my life,” Assis told a local newspaper.
Jose Felipe, another passenger, shared a similarly eerie experience. Initially planning to board a Latam flight, he attempted to switch to the Voepass plane but was denied boarding because he arrived past the check-in time. “Man, it’s such an overwhelming feeling,” he told Reuters. “I’m here shaking… Only God and I were aware of this moment.”
As investigations into the crash continue, the stories of those who witnessed it and narrowly avoided boarding the doomed flight serve as a stark reminder of the tragedy that unfolded in São Paulo.